Marsha's Spot

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Abby Holden Flipside Album Review and Giveaway!

From a rural upbringing in Tamahere, New Zealand up-and-coming singer/songwriter Abby Holden’s brand of catchy self-penned indie pop replete with frank lyricism is fast gaining her a fan-base on the vibrant London music scene.
Singing from the moment she could speak and a talented classically trained pianist from the age of six, Abby had a healthy obsession with vocals, evidenced by her love of the Phantom of the Opera album and Whitney Houston's eponymous second album. Gaining her first taste of recording in the studio at the age of 12 while singing on a charity record, Abby’s passion for a career in music was ignited, and in high school she learned the guitar - swiftly moving onto to write her own music.
In college Abby formed the band “Skyla”, which gained popularity and performed on TV with the song, “Day by Day” and received radio airplay in New Zealand and Sydney, Australia with “Believe in Me”.
Since moving to London in 2005, Abby has continued to hone the craft of song-writing, recording her debut album “Flipside” at London’s Ritz Studios, which was officially released in the U.K. on March 18, 2011. The album features re-mastered and re-recorded tracks from Abby’s ‘Skyla’ days. “Wrong Tonight” and “Believe in Me” recently went through to the finals of the U.K. Songwriting Competition 2011, while the title track “Flipside” and “Undone” made it into the semi-finals.
Abby is now receiving radio play in London from independent stations such as OnFM 101.4, Recharged Radio and Suckfree Radio; and has recently returned from a successful 10 day U.S. tour that included dates at cult venues, The Bitter End and Café Vivaldi in New York.
The fun-loving Antipodean singer is now back in the studio recording her second album, due for release early 2012.

Tracks of Flipside include:
Wrong Tonight
I'll Be With You Now
Undone
Flipside
Push the Playback
Let Go
Believe in Me
Fly Away
Step Back
I'll Be Fine

My review:
I found this entire album to be very enjoyable! Most of the songs are really upbeat. A couple of them (Believe in Me and Fly Away) have a more laid back slower sound. What stands out to me in the music is how clear the instruments are. I loved it!

Enjoy this video of the cover song, Flipside:

Disclaimer: I received a download of this album for the purpose of this review from LaFamos PR. I was not compensated in any other way and any opinions are my own. LaFamos is providing the album for the giveaway winner.

Now--on to the fun! One of my lucky blog readers will win the Flipside album. Enter easily with the rafflecopter form below.

TGIFF--Flowered Quilt Complete!

I actually finished this quilt 2 weeks ago but I have let Friday pass by me, not getting this post in. As you can tell by the time, I almost did the same thing this week!
I am working on another quilt and am in hopes of finishing it in time for my turn to host the linky. I'm just going to say wish me luck! I've not had a lot of time to make it in to my sewing room. This must change for any chance of finishing the quilt.

Here is the flowered quilt that I've worked on for a few months now off and on. I'm glad it's done. It's listed for sale in my etsy shop.

Hopping along now to see what others have completed :)

New Coupons Alert!

Frugal Friday Link Up--Three Uses for Olive Oil

Good Friday to all! It's been a super super busy week for me away from home and today is no different. Not that I mind being busy, but not much is getting done around the house, or on the computer (or so it seems).

I was able to do a bit more coupon shopping this week...just a little bit. I did the Mega event at the grocery store just one time plus bought milk--which sadly was not on sale this week. I was able to combine a free coupons for Triscuits in with the mega event and a .50 off I Can't Believe It's not Butter coupon in with the deal. Otherwise I did buy cottage cheese because we haven't had any in ages, and then 7 of the Velveeta cups for just .49 each. I also used 3 of the $2 off Private Selections coupons because they were about to expire. I picked up 3 of the Apple Crisp packages for just .99 each after coupon. In all I saved $14.75 on the 14 items that I purchased. (I'm still in the process of getting caught up on organizing coupons, working a little each day.)
For more food this past week, we were able to buy 20 bierocks from church for .50 each. Also, my husband got a great deal on whole chickens from one of the little markets he services. They sold them to him for just .69 a lb! He came home with 2 large whole chickens for $4.69. We still had meat from the week before.
**************************************************************************************************************

Today, from the 99 Cent Solutions book, I am sharing 3 uses for olive oil.

1. Polish for finished wood surfaces. Instead of using furniture sprays and polishes, which are nothing but silicone, use olive oil. The sprays and polishes leave a quick shine, but over time they build up a sticky dullness. Simple wipe on a dab of pure olive oil with a soft cloth, then buff to shine.

2. Recondition your baseball mitt. Bring back softness and shine to that old baseball mitt by pouring oil on a rag and then working it into the glove well. Rub it into the cracks and crevices. Use a clean rag to buff off any excess.

3. Repair damaged hair. Wash your hair and rinse with warm water. Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil in a cup in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Massage it all through your hair and cover with an old shower cap or warp your hair with a sheet of plastic wrap. Cover with a towel and wear it for 30 minutes. Shampoo and rinse well, and your hair will feel thick and silky. This will help repair too much sun, chemicals, blow drying, and curling iron dryness and brittleness.
***************************************************************************************************************

Link up your frugal tips, recipes, and savings trips to keep me motivated!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Squidoo Hopping--Re-Building My Notebook

First things first....I would like to thank poutine for taking the time to share last weeks blog hop link with others. It was wonderful to see so many link up! I still have to get to most of them, but I love it!

This week I will be working on re-organizing, or re-building, my squidoo notebook. I started January 1, but didn't get far. I started a notebook of lenses when I started on squidoo, but as my lens count grows, it's too hard to find the lens and make my notes on what I am doing with it. I am in the process of re-writing things and putting the papers into a 3 ring binder in alphabetical order. This sure will help me find the lens faster to make note of my updates and such. Yeah, I know, I should be using some sort of computer program and saving it on disc, but I have a hard time with those.

I didn't get to building any new lenses this week. I did add 2 more pictures and 2 more books to our Learning About England lens. (We are having some passport issues, so if you are the praying kind, please pray she gets her passport in time for the trip!)

I also noticed that after over 2 years at the top of my list, the Helen Steiner Rice lens has dropped to #2. In it's place is now Tweety Bird. I'm not sure how he got so popular, but cool! I just spent over an hour updating good old Tweety Bird. I added some colored backgrounds and some more amazon modules, and it also now donates 10% to the Humane Society. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Off I go to get this posted and hope to get lots of link ups this week as well.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

WIP Wednesday--Will The Projects Ever Be Complete?

My intent over this next week is to complete all of the cross magnets that I have magnet strips for, and to fill in all the squares for my baby blocks. I want these done so I can use up the growing amount of yarn in this bag next to me for making the granny squares.

Monday I experienced my first work day at Quilt Guild. We are making walker bags to be given to a cancer group. They are going to auction off the bags to raise money for patients. In the first photo is a group of some of the women working. The second photo is what I have accomplished so far. I brought home materials to make 4 of the bags. So far I only have the first 2 steps done, so if nothing else I will do those steps on all 4 bags then get instructions in person on how to move on. Reminding me of high school sewing class days....asking step by step for instructions on following a sewing pattern!

Oh gosh...I only made it in to my craft room to sew twice in the last week. Neither time was for very long. I really wanted to have this quilt done before the end of the month...can I do it?

I am in the process of finishing up what will be my last set of hot pads and matching coasters....for now. I do want to use up more of the yarn already out of my stash for the granny squares.

We met again for sewing club at church. I'm having a lot of fun with the every week instead of just once a month. We even had someone new join us, and hopefully she will continue to come...as well as a couple others. We are meeting again next week as we work on finishing up quilts already started. I had my daughter take a picture of us all working to tie this quilt top. (If you are wondering about the beds and things in the background, we host a bike hostel in our church)

Here is my progress on the toothbrush rug. It's not going to end up near the size I had hoped for, but I should have it finished before my post here next week. I am going to probably not start my next one until I get some other projects done.

Last but not least---day 32 of the Granny Square a Day 2012 challenge. I almost have 2 rows done now! I'm excited as each day it gets a little larger. It's laying across our king size bed.

Hopefully I will have some progress on the scrappy quilt next week as well. In the meantime, I am hooking up with the following blogs:

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn--Book Review

The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn (Sometimes God has to Intervene)
ISBN 978-0-7852-3195-0 Published by Thomas Nelson

This is a wonderful read...and a quick read. I read it in just a couple of days. I did want to keep reading to find out more.

In The Encounter we meet Jonathan Rush. He's a wealthy entrepreneur whose mother gave him away when he was a young boy. This fact has eaten away at him for years. He heads back to Fairbanks, Alaska in hopes of getting his questions answered on just why his mother would abandon him.

With the help of a reporter and a mysterious hermit type woman named Mercy help him on the journey.

This book is written in a form that I enjoy reading. One chapter is about Jonathan and what he is doing. The following chapter is about his mother and what she went through, and is going through.
Wonderful ending to the book.

In the back of the book is a section entitled The Truth Behind the Fiction. Following is a Solitude and Discussion Guide.
I recommend this reading!

About the author: Stephen Arterburn is the host of the New Life Live! radio and television program distributed across the country. He is a best-selling author with more than eight million books in print and founder of Women of Faith, a conference attended by more than four million women since its inception. If you have a question or comment for Steve, you can contact him at sArterburn@newlife.com

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from booksneeze.com for the purpose of review. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions are my own.

Homeschool Journey--Learning Along

Jasmine and I had another good week of learning this past week. She completed all assignments I had ready for her for the week.
We read a lot more about England. This week we meet to learn a lot more about the trip. OMG! I am so nervous about her passport. Yesterday in the mail came a letter from the passport place stating that what was sent in was a copy of the divorce papers and they need the originals. The trip is March 20. I am mailing off the papers today with prayer (and a note inside, even though the outside of the return envelope they sent has a space to put in the departure date of her trip)

The gals and I are meeting at sewing club at church more often right now because we have a lot of quilts piling up to be finished. Here is a picture of Jasmine and her schoolwork while we are working:

We are meeting again today for the day, so next week's photo will be similar.
I'm going to look up a Bible study I had started with the girls a few years back and get it back out. It will be something that Jasmine, my husband, and I can work on on Wednesday's together. That is my husbands day off for one thing, and another is that he is really wanting to do Bible study.

Off and running I go!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Tide Coldwater Challenge

I switched to washing in cold water several months ago in my effort to save energy. However, my hubby insists that whites be washed in hot water.
I was excited to get the chance to give Tide Coldwater a try, mostly on the whites. I've washed 3 loads of whites in cold water, using the Tide Coldwater. SSssshhhhh don't tell my hubby....I haven't told him, nor do I plan to.

I've also washed loads of colors with the Tide Coldwater. I love knowing that Tide is one of the best brands of laundry soap out there and that my clothes are being taken care of.
My daughter just bought 2 new pairs of pants, one purple and one red. I put both in the washer, not paying attention to the other colors I was putting in. There was no bleeding of colors at all.

Admittedly I've not been a user of Tide, but several of my friends will use nothing else. My thought has always been that it was just too expensive for my budget. I was surprised when I did check prices to find that is only a couple dollars or so higher than the brands I usually buy. Proctor & Gamble always has Tide coupons out and it does go on sale. Recently it was on a good sale at my grocery store. Great price and the current coupon was $2 off. I was disappointed to not find the Coldwater formula for sale at my store, but I did take advantage to try another formula that I hadn't ever tried before.

I am including before and after shots of one of the loads of whites I did using the Tide Coldwater.

Disclaimer: I received a full size bottle of Tide Coldwater from SheSpeaks as part of their Tide Coldwater program. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions are my own.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Frugal Friday Link Up--4 Uses for Oatmeal

Happy Friday! Sorry my post is so late--I was having a good dream about my dream house and didn't want to wake up LOL Then, I am having some computer issues that I have yet to figure out how to cure. I am giving Google Chrome a try but I'm not liking it.

This past week has flown by. I've had some exciting happenings that deal with my blog and products I will be getting in for review/and or giveaway and some of those things have come in.

Recyclebank is finally coming to my town as far as them weighing what we recycle and earning points. I'm excited. I had been lax in getting everyting recyclable to the cart. Lazy is the word for it. Since starting to put everything recyclable in the cart, we are only taking out the kitchen trash once a week! So, other than when I change litter boxes, our trash cart is staying pretty empty.
While over at the recyclebank website I watched the stream line recycling video. I knew the plastic bag recycle bin was in the grocery stores but never put any thought in to it. Now I am making sure to recycle our newspaper bags, clean zipper bags, bread bags, etc, throwing them into the bin each time I am at the store.

I'm feeling really good about our recycling efforts.

This week, from the 99 Cent Solutions book, I am sharing 4 uses for oatmeal:

1. Tighten your pores. Grind 1/4 cup of oatmeal to a fine powder in the blender. Add 1 egg white and 2 tablespoons of honey. Pulse in the blender to combine and smooth this mixture over your clean face. Avoid the eye area. Keep this on your face for 15 minutes and rinse off with warm water, pat dry and apply a light moisturizer.

2. Scrub your hands. Mix oatmeal, either quick cooking or old-fashioned (not flavored), with enough milk to make a thin paste and scrub your hands well with it. This will remove all that dirt from your gardening or other projects and your hands will feel softened and smooth.

3. Soothe itchy skin. Grind a cup of oatmeal until it's a fine powder. Stir this powder in to your warm bath and soak in it for as long as you would like. This is the exact same thing you are getting when you buy the special oatmeal baths and will only cost you pennies. Oatmeal will soothe itching from chicken pox, poison ivy, and other itchiness. It is harmless and nonirritating. It's ideal for children with eczema.

4. Shampoo a shut-in. Oatmeal and baking soda make an excellent and effective dry shampoo for those who are bedridden or ill. It will soak up the excess oils and neutralize odor. Grind 1/4 oatmeal to a fine powder, then add 1/4 cup baking soda and pulse to combine. Put a towel around your shoulders, or the shoulders of the person to be shampooed. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the mixture over the scalp, working it to the roots. Let it sit for 5 minutes then gently brush it out over the towel.

Let's see lots of link ups this week!

Index